


Fly to the Stars

by pwoutagonist



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gymnastics, M/M, Olympics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 11:46:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1119454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pwoutagonist/pseuds/pwoutagonist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is an assistant coach in a small but elite gym in New York City and Eren is a rising star in gymnastics who's ready to take on the world stage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Clipped Wings

_December 25, 1994_

 

“Dear, look!” White, whimsy snowflakes drifted down and melted on a cloth-covered basket. Small cries came from it as the elderly couple approached the young, abandoned child. “A baby out here in the cold? On Christmas?” Picking up the child, the elderly woman held the young toddler in her arms as the little boy cried and cried, a dark mop of hair sitting on his head. Looking up at her husband with glittering eyes, he could not reject her choice; she had already fallen in love with the homeless child. “He doesn’t have a family, so let’s take care of him!” She stood up, showing the little boy to him. “Our little Christmas miracle.”

 

_August 3rd, 1998_

 

“Levi, watch out!” The five year-old watched in awe from his special high chair situated in the gym. The elderly couple owned a gymnastics gym in a rural area of France where they helped coach young teens and children to participate in national championships. Not having a babysitter, the couple brought their adopted son to the gym to watch. It was the first time little Levi fell in love; he watched in awe as the gymnasts jumped and flipped around. Their movements were enticing and Levi wanted to do that too.

 

When his parents weren’t watching, he climbed free from his high chair and crawled to the floor mat where someone was already practicing. He grinned, eyes hardened with determination as he balanced himself and performed a somersault. The gymnast almost jumped on the boy and Levi’s mother screamed in fear. But Levi stood up, flashed her a bright grin that could almost pass as smug, and did another somersault. “Josephine, watch.” Her husband smiled, eyes set on creating a new member for his gymnastics team. Levi continued to do cartwheels and somersaults almost perfectly. The owner of the gym grinned.

 

“Levi, we’re going to make you a top-class gymnast!”

 

_January 2nd, 2004_

 

“Make sure you chalk up your hands.” Levi nodded, wrapping white athletic tape around his wrists. “Whatever happens, I am proud of you, son.” Smiling a little, the twelve year-old gave a hug to his coach and adoptive father before going over to the rings. It was his last apparatus in the finals and he was placed fourth at the moment in the Annual French National Gymnastics Championship. This was his last chance to prove that he was a great gymnast. He had trained for years to prepare for this national championship and he was not leaving without a golden trophy. He was the youngest competitor in his division, but he was going to beat all of the other boys.

 

His father hoisted him up as he grabbed onto the rings, tested out his weight and let himself hang, relaxing completely. Hundreds of other boys came here representing their gyms with fancy uniforms and such, but Levi was going to make his family proud. First, he was going to win this championship, then he was going to train for the Olympics and be the most decorated Olympian and repay his parents for taking him in when he was abandoned. He was truly grateful for this experience and he couldn’t have done it without his family.

 

His performance was almost impeccable and it made his score the highest as he dismounted and the audience cheered loudly. He watched the other boys who were watching him and gave them shit-eating grins as he put on his slightly ragged jacket and stepped onto the pedestal to receive his prize. “Levi, you were amazing!” His parents embraced their son who was now the best twelve year-old gymnast in all of France. “We’re going out to eat tonight! Our treat!” Levi was blessed; he had everything he could ever hope for.

 

_July 23rd, 2008_

 

“No, we placed fourth, but that doesn’t matter right now!” Levi was still in his gymnast uniform decorated with dazzling red and blue. His jacket had his name stamped on the back proudly, but he couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t think about the phone call he received when he had just finished his performance at the Beijing Olympics...when his mother had collapsed and had a heart attack. The doctors said that she wouldn’t last more than a week.

 

Levi held his dying mother’s hand between his own, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. His father was in the next town over and was rushing to get to the hospital. However there was tons of traffic in Beijing and wouldn’t be there for another hour. Josephine smiled and patted her young son on the top of his head.

 

“Look at you, my son. I feel like it was just yesterday when I found you all alone in the snow on that Christmas day.” Levi bit his lip; he knew this was a goodbye speech but he didn’t want to hear it. “I am so proud of you...making it to the Olympics...I am so proud, Levi. You’re my little Christmas miracle.”

 

_July 26th, 2008_

 

Josephine Mervielle, age seventy-three, a mother and wife, died in Beijing Memorial hospital at 3:45 AM.

 

_January 12th, 2009_

 

“Levi, you haven’t smiled since your mother died.” The male stared into space, mindlessly scooping breakfast into his mouth without really hearing his father’s words. “Son…” Levi looked up for a moment and saw the pained expression on his father’s face. He frowned, apologizing for his behavior. “We have three years, Levi. I know you can win.” Levi’s plate was soon empty and he finished his glass of juice in one swig. “Let’s get to the gym in an hour.” Nodding silently, Levi carried his dishes to the sink and went upstairs to put on his gear.

 

_June 30th, 2012_

 

Cheers erupted throughout the entire audience as Levi landed a perfect dismount on his high bar routine. He felt strong and knew he could edge out the Chinese gymnast who had the highest score at the moment. All he had to do was wait for his score. His father hugged him, impressed with his near impeccable high bar. But Levi wasn’t smiling.

 

“Wow, that was incredible, right Sasha?”

 

“Yes, Connie, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!”

 

“But it’s up to the judges; sadly we have no say. Otherwise I’d hand him the gold medal right now!”

 

“Levi Mervielle, age twenty, representing France, just gave an amazing performance to hopefully earn him the gold! But Zhang Zou from China still has the top score. All we have to do is wait.” Levi’s father gripped tightly onto his hand. This is it...this win...will be for my mother. “We have the scores! Wow, I cannot believe this! I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this!”

 

“This is unbelievable, Sasha! Zhang Zou’s final score was 16.334 but Levi was not able to take the gold with a very close score of 16.330! I can’t believe the scores were so close! Levi must be devastated.” And he was; Levi was shocked and felt completely humiliated. He glared over at the judges who gave him a shitty score. His father tried to calm him down but he could feel nothing but anger and despair. He walked silently and solemnly in the second position, glaring at the red back of the Chinese gymnast who took his liberty away.

 

_September 9th, 2013_

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my place?” Levi stared at the ground but really looking at anything. The blonde girl, Petra, held on to his arm worriedly. His black suit felt stiff on his body and he didn’t want to be here. “You couldn’t have seen this coming…” Levi looked down at her; he didn’t mean to be so cruel to her, but he just couldn’t find the light in his life anymore. All he had was the 2016 Olympics in Rio. There he would take back what he deserved; there, he would repay his parents for loving him.

 

He stood up, bidding a farewell to the blonde as he walked back to the dark limousine he arrived in. Levi’s eyes wandered to the hilltop, leaving the last bit of family and moving away on his own.

 

_October 23rd, 2013_

 

“My name is Erwin Smith. I’m a gymnastics instructor for the United States Olympic team. Your gym closed down, yes? I can offer you better training and can help you take the gold. I already sent you flight tickets straight from Paris to the States. It’s up to you whether or not you want to become a better gymnast or not. I’ll be awaiting your arrival.” The call ended with a small click.

 

_December 20th, 2013_

 

“Flight from Paris to New York City, please board gate number three. Flight number 274 boarding at gate three non-stop to New York City.” Levi clutched into his ticket, got up from his seat, and walked forward to his new destiny.

 

_August 1st, 2016_

 

“It’s a shame we didn’t predict the Netherlands performing as well as they did.” Erwin rubbed the younger male’s shoulders for encouragement. “But this is an individual fight now; go bring home a gold medal, Levi.” Nodding to his instructor, Levi chalked up his hands and stretched a little before walking beneath the high bar. He had already performed well to help earn United States a silver medal in the team score, and now it was all about Levi. This was the moment he prepared himself for...this was the moment that would change his life.

 

With Erwin hoisting him up, Levi grabbed onto the high bar with both hands, letting out a deep breath. He swung forward, back, and once more forward to pull himself into a hand-stand position. Letting his weight carry him, he fell forward until the peak where he let go, spun in the air, and grabbed onto the bar again, flying in the opposite direction. “Wow, Connie, what a beautiful yet aggressive Gienger! It looks like Levi is here to win!”

 

“Couldn’t have said it better, Sasha. His legs are perfect and his grip is strong. But the difficulty on this routine is higher than the current gold medal spot holder, Epke Zunderland’s previous bout at the high bar. He’s got an incredible move ready for us!” Levi felt power surging through his fingertips every time he made a perfect connection with the bar. He had an incredible move coming up which would seal his victory. “His form is great!”

 

Levi focused and used all of his power. “Here, he goes, building momentum! This is incredible! If he can pull these five consecutive connections, then Levi will take home a gold medal for USA!” Levi propelled himself in the air, spinning in the air almost flawlessly and connecting back with the bar only to launch himself again. When his hands connected the second time in a row, Levi felt invincible. Flying high in the air, legs spread wide, he looked like he had gained the ability to fly. As his hands connected for the third time, the crowd went wild.

 

This was his moment; the fourth skill was his best skill: the Jaeger. “Amazing! Out of all of the performers today, and even in previous Olympics, I’ve never seen anyone perfect that skill and make it look absolutely flawless! But here it is, the final move before he lands his dismount!” Levi knew it was risky, but Erwin had faith. Levi soared in the air one final time as his hands were splayed out to grab hold onto the bar. The audience was dead silent.

 

As soon as his fingertips left the bar, Levi’s hand slipped; he didn’t have enough momentum. He wasn’t going to complete the move. Desperate not to fall, he tried to grab onto the bar. But his hand crushed it instead and Levi heard his bones break. On the way down, he landed on his already broken wrist, causing it to break through the skin. Erwin clambered up the steps to his gymnast in an instant, calling for medics to help him quickly. All Levi remembered that day was the extreme pain in his right arm, and the realization that he could never win gold and his gymnastics career was over.

 


	2. Welcome to New York City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Mikasa get a tour of the gym. Levi is stubborn and Erwin is a mastermind.

“Mikasa! Mikasa, look! He FLIPPED! In the air! AND LANDED PERFECTLY!” A bright-eyed, brunette jumped happily in front of the TV, half glancing between the Beijing Olympics and his disinterested adopted sister on the couch. “I want to do that too!” Bounding over to the couch, he sat on his knees, facing the dark-haired girl. “Let’s do gymnastics, Mikasa!” She gave him a questioning look, but his eyes were hardened with determination and glittering with curiosity and adventure. This was his newfound dream; ten year-old Eren Jaeger had his eyes on a prize and he wasn’t going to give up any time soon. “We should go stay with Auntie Hanji and compete for Germany! You’re my sister so it should work out okay.” He grinned and bounced on the couch. “Mikasa, we’re going to be famous!”

 

* * *

 

 

Looking at the recap of the Rio Olympics, Erwin Smith grinned wide. His expertise was scoping out young talent for his small yet elite gym in NYC that only accepted the best of the best to be trained for the Olympics. Out of the eighteen years of his career, all of his students have participated in the four olympics in his time (Athens, Beijing, London, and Rio De Janeiro) and over half of them have received medals. He was a very strict yet rewarding coach and gymnasts all over the country flocked to him. But every year, at most, he only accepted 20 gymnasts into his rankings. Not all of them competed for USA but still acknowledged their coach.

 

It wasn’t his first time recruiting an overseas gymnast; the young male on the screen seemed more fiery and passionate that his first capture. “Levi, what do you think?” He turned around to the dark-haired male on the couch who was peeling an orange. He glanced over at the TV and sighed. His eyes darkened.

 

“Must you watch the Rio Olympics every time I come over?” He groaned annoyedly, throwing the peels on the floor as he bit into the juicy fruit. Not really caring about what was on the flat screen, he stared at his mentor, not showing any emotion. “Unless I see him in person, I can’t judge a gymnast by what I see on TV. You know that.” Levi huffed a sigh and walked over to the kitchen while picking up the orange rinds he threw on the floor to dispose of them. _Or maybe I can save them and make some mulling liquid..._ It had been a while since Erwin recruited anyone to his gym so maybe something about the German kid was special. Levi couldn’t really tell.

 

* * *

 

 

“Mikasa, I can’t believe we’re in New York City!” Eren cheered, rolling his bright red suitcase around the lobby of the airport and looking at all of the people. He wanted to go outside and see what the city was like, but Mikasa reminded him that Erwin’s assistant was picking them up to settle them into the apartment complex that all of the gymnasts of the Wings of Freedom Gymnasium lived in while training. After a while, a short male approached the pair hiding behind dark sunglasses and an unlit cigarette between his lips.

 

Eren turned to the man and blinked. “Eren Jaeger?” The brunette nodded. “I’m Levi, Erwin’s assistant.” Green eyes widened with surprise as he followed the male like a puppy to his car and loaded their luggage inside. It was a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz and the siblings had never been inside such a luxurious vehicle. Eren spent the entire fifteen minutes ogling all of the features which kind of annoyed Levi. He was supposed to be some German prodigy along with his adopted sister. He wasn’t entirely sure what their abilities were, but he’d have to see how they performed tomorrow morning in the gym which was conveniently located on the basement level of the building.  

 

Once they arrived, Eren and Mikasa pulled out their luggage and walked inside the automatic glass doors. To the right was a desk with a young blonde receptionist behind it, fingers tapping away at the keyboard rapidly. Levi greeted her before walking along to the back of the hallway where the elevator was. But on the right side was glass windows revealing the state-of-the-art gym that made both of the siblings stare wide-eyed. They were glad to be in such a presence of a gym like that but also eagerly anticipating the moment their bare, chalked feet could walk upon the pristine mats that seemed to stretch for miles.

 

Levi hussled them away from the gym and to the elevator, punching in the fifth floor. “I’m the only one who lives on this floor so Eren will be taking the room next to mine. Mikasa will be on the sixth floor with another girl named Petra; she’s the receptionist in the lobby. Before she was about to voice her complaints about not being near Eren, Levi shot her a glare that silenced her. The elevator dinged and Levi took Eren out to the floor. “You’re in room 602, Mikasa.” She nodded, albeit a little reluctantly, knuckles turning white from gripping her suitcase handle too hard. Eren waved a little goodbye to her for the moment.

 

Watching and Levi unlocked the door to his apartment, he was shaking a little. He couldn’t believe he was scouted by a top-ranking gymnastics coach in America and now he was actually living the dream. He participated in the Rio Olympics but he didn’t place. Eren thought that he didn’t have the skill to perform. But Erwin saw something in the fiery brunette that could add to his team; something he saw in a certain French male not too long ago. And Eren was grateful to be given a second chance. Maybe, just maybe, he could achieve something great; he promised that to himself when his parents died that he would make them proud.

 

After getting his clothes out so they wouldn’t wrinkle, Eren grasped onto his apartment key and headed downstairs to the lobby so he could see the gym again. Hands splayed against the glass like a child, he watched intently at the small handful of gymnasts tumbling and practicing, he couldn’t help but be entranced. Did he really have the skills to step foot in such a pristine place? Did he have the skills to represent the United States in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? Erwin said he could; he said both him and Mikasa would be able to get medals. Was it too good to be true? A voice behind the brunette startled him.

 

“If you put in the proper training and take my lessons seriously, I can get you a gold.” Eren whirled around to a tall blonde male who he didn’t recognize by face, but the voice was very familiar. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Eren Jaeger...and Mikasa Ackerman.” The young woman walked from the elevator to stand by her brother’s side. “Welcome to the Wings of Freedom. I’ll be your coach and trainer.” Green eyes went wide. The elevator dinged open and Levi approached them in a dark hoodie and sweats, holding a tea mug. “Ah Levi, perfect timing. Why don’t you show them around the gym?” Eren’s eyes lit up. “I’m sure they’re both...dying to see it.” Levi groaned slightly and nodded, silently walking up to one of the glass windows, waving a keycard in front of a little black box and stepping inside the opening.

 

Both Eren and Mikasa followed as the familiar smell of gym mats and chalk filled their noses. Eren was enthralled with everything and Mikasa was very impressed that it was so sparkling clean despite the fact that it must have been used daily and full of sweaty gymnasts. There were only three inside at the moment, performing floor exercises. There was a path around the gym that was okay for shoes that encircled the entire area. The brunette wanted very badly to whip his shoes off and go swing around on the bars a couple of time, but today was only for observation.

 

Sensing a strange aura behind him, Levi turned his head back as he took a sip of tea. His eyes widened in surprise; Eren looked like an animal who was itching to go out into the wild. No, it was something even more than that; it was like a starving beast with a easy kill just prancing around right in front of him. He smirked; at least the kid had some balls. He couldn’t tell what the girl was thinking; she kept her emotions sealed off with a passive face. But he swore he could see a sparkle in her eyes. “Um, you’re name is Levi, right?” He nodded at the brunette. “Do you perform too? Gymnastics, I mean.”

 

Levi kept his face from reacting too much. He stopped walking and looked out on the mats where three gymnasts were swinging around on the high bar, performing tricks here and there. His left hand twitched and he let out a deep sigh before continuing walking. “Not anymore, kid.” He turned to meet bright green eyes. “And that’s Levi- _sensei_ to you.” Eren stiffened a little and nodded, following the male once more as he pointed out where the water stations were, how to refill the chalk tubs, and to wipe down the mats after each exercise to avoid spreading bacteria.

 

After a thorough tour of the gym, Levi returned the duo to the lobby where the blonde receptionist named Petra was holding a clipboard and wearing a bright smile on her lips. “Did Levi give a good tour?” She asked, sending a teasing glare to the older male before showing Eren and Mikasa the clipboard. “I don’t know if Erwin or Levi mentioned this, but this is a sign-in sheet. Every time you enter and exit the gym, you must fill out this form.” Eren stared at the sheet before gasping in surprise.

 

“Kirschstein is here?!” He exclaimed, a scowl adorning his face as he stared at the name. “That asshole, how did he get scouted before I did?” Levi stared at Eren; he didn’t know he was friends with the horse face. He chuckled lightly. This new kid...Eren Jaeger...was becoming more and more interesting by the minute. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see if the brunette was all bark and no bite.

 

Petra placed the clipboard down and smiled and Levi set his mug down on the nearby table. “Horse face is my cousin.” Eren turned to the dark-haired male with a shocked expression. “Well, sort of. More like very distant cousins. I don’t even think we’re related by blood.” Both Eren and Mikasa looked confused. “I was adopted into the family, so technically cousins, not related.” The gears in their heads clicked and they nodded in understanding. “You’ll probably see him tomorrow during stretching. But Eren is going to be training with me. And Mikasa…” Levi thought back on his earlier discussion with Erwin. “Mikasa is going to be Sasha. Erwin pointed out from the last olympics that your body was too stiff.” The girl’s eyes narrowed though Levi was not in the slightest intimidated by her. “Sasha’s flexible and nimble; she’ll help you out.”

 

Eren was shaking; he looked so excited that he might even pee his pants right there. Levi groaned a little at the thought; taking his mug back into his hands, he waved them off and headed for the elevator to go back up to his room. As if on cue, Erwin came out of the elevator in running gear and went over to his new recruits. “Did Levi help you two out?” They both nodded. Erwin was impressed with the fire in their eyes; there was two more years until the next Olympics. If everything goes as planned in the next five months, he was going to enter the pair into the 2019 Artistic Worlds Tournament. “If you perform well for me in practice, I’ll introduce you to a new apparatus you may have not tried out yet.”

 

“New apparatus?” The brunette inquired, tilting his head a little. Erwin nodded.

 

“Yes. For the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, they’re adding one more Olympic event.” The blonde man grinned. “How does the trampoline sound, Eren?” The brunette had never really thought about that sort of routine before. He could pull something like that off, right? It didn’t sound like something near impossible. “How would you like to try out synchronized trampoline?” Eren didn’t know how to respond.

 

“Syncrho? As in…”

 

“Yes, two people.”

 

“Who would be my partner? I don’t really know anyone here yet that well…” Erwin grinned.

 

“You’ve met him already.” Eren’s face twisted in disgust as he thought of Jean. “Do you not like Levi? I thought I told him to be nice to you two…” Green eyes widened; Levi certainly wasn’t the one he was thinking about.

 

“But he told me he doesn’t do gymnastics anymore.” Erwin let out a sigh. _Levi sure is stubborn...isn’t he?_ Erwin gave the brunette a small smile before waving him goodbye and going out into the streets to run. Eren and his sister were left alone to wonder what Erwin was saying. Levi and Eren performing on the trampoline, together, at the same time? He turned to Mikasa who only shrugged in response. He had a lot to think about, but more importantly…

 

“Eren.” The brunette blushed.

 

“Yes?” Mikasa stared at him.

 

“Was that your stomach?” No response. “Let’s go ask short stack where to get some food.” Eren sighed as he was dragged off, getting one last glimpse of the gym he was going to be practicing in tomorrow.

 

_Synchronized trampoline...sounds like a challenge._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of that chapter? Hope you enjoyed it! More to come!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
